Queen 'surprised' by Prince William and Kate's sudden life-changing announcement

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Over 10 years ago, after almost a decade of dating, Prince William finally got down on one knee to ask his then girlfriend Kate Middleton to marry him.

The romantic moment took place during a holiday in Kenya where the couple spent the night in a remote wooden cabin near Lake Rutundu.Kate, who will celebrate her 40th birthday this weekend, has since described the moment as "very romantic" and wrote in the cabin's guestbook that it had been a "wonderful 24 hours".

But as the pair knew there would be a media frenzy waiting on them, William and Kate decided to keep their engagement secret for a little while, writes The Mirror.

In her book Kate: The Future Queen, royal expert Katie Nicholl claims that Kate put her new engagement ring - which had previously belonged to Princess Diana - in a safe.But on November 16, 2010, they decided it was time to tell the world they were getting married.However, William had a very important job to do first, because as a senior member of the royal family, he legally had to ask for the Queen's consent first.According to Katie, the Queen was having breakfast with Prince Philip when she got the call from her grandson.She claims that the monarch was "thrilled to receive William's call, albeit a little surprised at the suddenness of the announcement".A source told her: "The Queen had no idea that there would be an announcement that morning."It was rather hurried, because William was apparently worried about it leaking out."Katie writes: "William enjoyed outfoxing the media, and this was one announcement he wanted to make himself.